News

CHAPS Euro system to close after nine years of service
APACS, the UK payments association, has announced the closure of the CHAPS Euro clearing service, which will take effect at the close of business today. The system began operation in January 1999 and used the same settlement mechanisms as its...

16-05-2008

Capital growth for Bibby Financial Services
Leading business finance provider, Bibby Financial Services is further expanding its national network, with the launch of its London-based company later this month. Situated in the heart of the City of London, the new base will house a fully-serviced, sales...

Taking the mystery out of money - Understanding BBA LIBOR
The British Bankers' Association London Interbank Offered Rate (BBA LIBOR) closely reflects the real rates of interest being used by the world's big financial institutions. Central banks, such as the Bank of England, the US Federal Reserve and the European...

Base promises brokers 3F's; fees, funding and a fast service
Base Commercial Mortgages Ltd, the specialist commercial mortgage lender, is promising to provide brokers with the three essential F's: the payment of fees for all introduced business, a continuity of funding and a fast and reliable service. The pledge has...

15-05-2008

RBS supports growth of Grant Thornton
Grant Thornton UK LLP has been provided with funding facilities by The Royal Bank of Scotland, RBS, to support the company's growth and acquisition aspirations. RBS, together with Barclays, have provided the firm with a £5m acquisition finance line to...

Steve Pateman joins Abbey
Head of Business Banking at RBS/NatWest, Steve Pateman is to join Abbey. His is briefed to target the SME sector. Business Money editor, Robert Lefroy, commented: “this is a strong signal from Banco Santander regarding its ambitions in the UK...

Bank of England May Inflation report
Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England commenting on the May inflation report: "The near-term outlook for inflation has deteriorated markedly over the past three months. CPI inflation was 3% in April, and rising energy and import prices will...

14-05-2008

PM’s employment announcement could prove a nightmare for small firms
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has warned that the prime minister’s announcement on the planned extension of the right to request flexible working together with new rules on agency workers could create an employment nightmare for small business owners....

CPI inflation rises to 3.0%
Consumer Price Index (CPI) annual inflation - the Government's target measure - was up from 2.5% in March to 3.0% in April. The largest upward contribution to the change in the CPI annual rate came from housing and household services...

13-05-2008

National Skills Academy for Financial Services celebrates first anniversary event
In its first year 3,000 students successfully enrolled on Skills Academy courses. Employers, training providers and learners gathered to celebrate the first anniversary of the National Skills Academy for Financial Services. David Lammy, skills minister joined Tony Vine-Lott, chair of...

Smaller manufacturers pass on high costs as demand slows
Small and medium-sized manufacturers have sharply raised the prices of their goods to try to tackle the strongest cost pressures in over 20 years, a CBI survey reveals. Adding to this difficult climate, demand for their goods has fallen both...

12-05-2008

Begbies Traynor acquire Fanshawe Lofts
Begbies Traynor has added to its strength in the region with the acquisition of Southampton and Bath based corporate recovery and insolvency firm, Fanshawe Lofts. Set up in 1990 Fanshaw Lofts provides corporate finance, business turnaround, corporate recovery and insolvency...

SMEs put best foot forward in wake of credit crunch
While it will come as no surprise that the UK’s business community is still feeling the squeeze of the credit crunch, new research from Bibby Financial Services has found that small businesses are keeping Britain’s entrepreneurial spirit alive by driving...

09-05-2008

Financial market turmoil narrows north south divide
The world-wide credit crunch will significantly dampen UK growth prospects and narrow the regional economic divide between the north and south, according to the latest Regional Planning report by Experian. "Following an expansion of 3.0% last year, UK GDP growth...

Comment on the March ONS manufacturing statistics
Ray O'Donoghue, national head of UK manufacturing, Barclays Commercial Bank said: "This month's figures show encouraging growth for the quarter with manufacturing output increasing by 0.3% compared to the quarter before and 1.0% on the same period last year. This...

08-05-2008

Datacash partners with Paypal
DataCash, a payment services provider, and PayPal, the online payments systems, have announced a partnership which means DataCash Merchants can now offer PayPal as an additional payment method to their customers. In making PayPal functionality available to merchants using the...

GE acquires Five Arrows
GE Commercial Finance’s Business Finance unit has acquired Five Arrows Commercial Finance Ltd - a major, UK-based asset-based lender and factoring house. Five Arrows was acquired from N M Rothschild for an undisclosed sum. Five Arrows Commercial Finance is one...

07-05-2008

UK Consumer Confidence continues to fall
The credit crunch has clearly affected consumers’ confidence as the Nationwide Consumer Confidence Index fell to the lowest level since the survey began in May 2004. The Index fell by seven points in the month, bringing the level to 70;...

Sale of Five Arrows Commercial Finance to GE
Rothschild announces that it has sold Five Arrows Commercial Finance to GE Commercial Finance. More tomorrow.

06-05-2008

NACFB responds to Salt Commercial announcement
Chief executive of the NACFB, Adam Tyler, comments on the announcement from Salt Commercial Finance that they would be withdrawing from the market as lending levels in the first part of 2008 had risen dramatically and they feel now is...

Exports help limit manufacturing slowdown but conditions vary
The worsening economic outlook has dented manufacturers’ confidence across most UK regions over the last three months, according to the latest Regional Trends Survey by the CBI and Experian. But, while there was a downturn in sentiment across most regions,...

First economic indicator of the month
UK manufacturing hit by combination of slower output growth, declining orders and rising inflationary pressures in April. The latest CIPS/NTC survey of UK manufacturers indicated that companies were experiencing rising cost inflationary pressures at a time when growth of production...

02-05-2008

Barclays reveals it's business trade map of England and Wales
Perhaps you had an inkling that Blackpool would have more bed and breakfasts than the national average (fourteen times as many), that Kensington and Chelsea has more estate agents (four times more, or one for every 173 people who live...

Leonard Curtis is new national brand for DTE Business Recovery
DTE Business Recovery Group today announced it will henceforth trade nationally as Leonard Curtis. The change in trading style reflects a desire to operate one brand across the UK. Following the launch of a Birmingham office in 2003, the acquisition...

01-05-2008

Grocery sector inquiry is a failure, says FSB
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said that small, independent shops have been let down by the Competition Commission in its inquiry into the grocery sector. Despite a committee of MPs estimating that 2,000 small shops are going out of...

Retail sales suffer sharp drop in April - CBI
Year-on-year retail sales fell markedly in April as poor weather and the early Easter added to the economic slowdown to dent spending, the CBI has said. Sales of big-ticket items, particularly those tied to the housing market, saw some of...

FSA proposals could be costly for customers
New proposals announced today by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for providing financial advice could prove costly for customers, according to the British Bankers' Association (BBA). The BBA is concerned that any proposals to curtail or ban tied advice, where...

30-04-2008

Barclays launches Project Bank Account
Barclays Commercial Bank has announced the launch of a new Project Bank Account aimed at tackling payment inefficiencies in the construction industry. The account, which has been developed with property and construction consultant Rider Levett Bucknall, provides an effective means...

New trade association formed by short term lenders
A new trade association designed to cover the short term lending market has been launched. The Association of Short Term Lenders (astl) is the first association in the UK to focus solely on the short term lending market and already...

29-04-2008

Calling the UK’s most inspiring entrepreneurial women
The search is on for the UK’s most inspiring female entrepreneurs, as the annual NatWest everywoman awards are launched on 1 May at the House of Commons. The awards, now in their sixth year, recognise and reward the most successful...

Prices rise as manufacturers try to cover record costs - CBI
Manufacturers are raising the prices of their goods to try to counter the fiercest increases since 1990 in unit costs, driven by more expensive energy and raw materials, the CBI has said. These cost pressures are intensifying even as orders...

28-04-2008

Competition and lack of financing - extends terms of payment in China
Terms of payment between companies in China are continuing to be extended, according to the 5th edition of the Coface Survey, Corporate Credit Risk Management in China. Increased market competition forces companies to grant credit by extended terms of payment...

Cattles puts customer service on the map with Service Charters
With good customer service becoming an increasingly important factor in choosing a business lender, Cattles Invoice Finance has become the first UK funder to commit to delivering first class service to both clients and introducers with the launch of Service...

25-04-2008

GLE Group signs landmark acquisition
GLE Group, a leading provider of angel and early stage VC funds,has completed its purchase of the YFM Group. By acquiring YFM, the UK’s early stage investment specialists, GLE has become the largest provider of equity capital to small and...

Do more to protect customers' personal details, warns FSA
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is urging firms to change their attitude to data security and do more to help prevent their customers falling victim to identity fraud and other types of financial crime. The warning follows an FSA review...

RBS supports MBO at Warrant Group
Warrant Group Limited, the Liverpool-based freight forwarding specialist, has undergone a multi-million pound Management Buyout (MBO), funded by The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). The deal sees the Warrant’s existing management team of Graham Roberts, Ian Jones, George Jackson and...

24-04-2008

CBI: Private equity must prove business model works
The private equity industry must prove its core business model works now the economic conditions have changed so much compared to a year ago, the director-general of the CBI has said. Then, PE firms were able to take advantage of...

Pessimistic firms rein in growth expectations
Firms’ confidence about their future performance dropped sharply in March, as pessimism about prospects for the UK economy hit a six-year low, according to the latest Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets Business Barometer. The survey of UK businesses with a turnover...

23-04-2008

Cobbetts strengthens Midlands banking litigation team
Law firm, Cobbetts, has appointed Sara Pinder as a director into the banking and finance litigation team. Sara joins the firm from HSBC Invoice Finance (UK) Ltd where she was the in-house legal team manager, from 2004 to 2008. In...

Haydock Finance backs exclusive multimillion property development
Haydock Finance backs exclusive multimillion property development An exclusive property development that will see a historic building returned to its former glory has commenced thanks to specialised funding from Haydock Finance. The Hermitage Estate, which covers 11 acres, is situated...

22-04-2008

CBI - public service reform critical
Gordon Brown's pledge to focus "solely" on keeping the economy on track must include more radical reform of Britain's public services, the CBI has said. It warned that continuing demand for better public services at a time when the economy...

GoIndustry-Dovebid announce expansion in Birmingham
GoIndustry-Dovebid, the machinery and business asset valuation and disposal firm, have strengthened their team with the arrival of Patrick Ditcham in their Birmingham office. Patrick, who was a partner with another leading firm of surveyors, brings with him a wealth...

21-04-2008

Tough times prompt cash comeback
Cautious customers, increasingly reluctant to spend money they have not got, have prompted a comeback for cash. New figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), published today show, despite card companies pushing plastic alternatives, cash has increased its dominance as...

EBRD steps up support for microfinance in Azerbaijan
Stepping up its support for microfinance in Azerbaijan the EBRD is providing finance to some of the country’s leading institutions in the sector. The EBRD is extending a $1m loan to Norwegian Microcredit LLC (Normicro) and is participating in the...

18-04-2008

Brits ignore credit crisis and take on more debt to appear wealthier
Over a third (36%) of Britons admit to judging people based on what they wear, with many of us tempted to spend beyond our means in order to appear ‘well-off’ to our peers despite the recent credit crisis, according to...

SHM expand into Kiev
SHM Smith Hodgkinson is expanding its eastern European operation with the opening of a new office in the Ukraine. The organisation — an expert in commercial and industrial asset and property valuation and disposal — officially opens its new Kiev...

17-04-2008

A&L launches single number phone contact for intermediaries
Alliance & Leicester has launched a single contact phone number for intermediary enquiries as part of its ongoing focus in 2008 to provide an efficient service to the intermediary market. The new number will launch today, Thursday 17 April and...

The Business Money All-Asset Finance Conference
CBI Conference Centre London 29 April 2008. The conference agenda is now complete. The theme this year embraces “The Quality of Our Asset”. “With all of the significant ABL lenders attending at senior executive level this will be a vibrant,...

16-04-2008

BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor March 2008
The latest British Retail Consortium-KPMG retail sales monitor shows that UK retail sales fell 1.6% on a like-for-like basis, compared with March 2007, when sales were up 3.9%. The decline was the worst since July 2005 when cold wet weather...

Location is still good for business
A new report published this week identifies the UK’s most significant centres of financial services activity and examines the business benefits of co-locating, or clustering, by sector. The report, Financial Services Clusters, was commissioned by the Financial Services Skills Council...

15-04-2008